List of Tremors characters
The following is a list of characters appearing in the Tremors films and television series. Principal characters Burt Gummer Hiram Gummer Hiram Gummer (also Michael Gross) was Burt’s great-grandfather and the main character in Tremors 4. He owned the silver mine that was the basis for the founding of Perfection (originally named Rejection). He is completely unlike Burt, being a city slicker from the eastern United States. He came to the town when the miners were being killed off by Graboids and costing the town money. He found it hard to adjust to western life, as he was the only one there at the time that couldn’t use a weapon. The first weapon that he uses is the dimunitive Sharps Pepperbox but at the end of the film he uses a Colt Gatling gun begaining his familys obsesion with weaponry. Eventually, he planned to leave Rejection and head for Carson City, believing that there was nothing he could do to help them. However, after he hocked the last of his valuables (a gold watch), he purchased the proper weapons to kill the Graboids. He was forced to discover his Burt-like side to help deal with the problem. At the end of the film, he began work on what would become Burt's house. He and Christine would leave Perfection years later, but Burt and Heather would eventually move into their old property. Earl Bassett Earl Bassett (Fred Ward) was a hired hand in the small desert valley town of Perfection, Nevada, working with partner Valentine McKee to eke out an almost entirely insignificant lifestyle. Though Valentine would've cringed at Earl's usage of the phrase "hired hands" ("Handymen, Earl! We are handymen!"), it was in truth what they were. Earl and Val constantly said that they were going to go somewhere and make a better life for themselves; they never actually did anything about it until one of Walter Chang's septic tanks blew up all over them in 1990. Hurrying out of Perfection, Earl and Val had the misfortune of running across some dead townsfolk, and once they got back to Perfection to give the news to the other residents, they discovered that what they were dealing with was far from ordinary. They attempted to reach Bixby (the nearest town to Perfection, 38 miles away) to alert the police, but the road was blocked by an avalanche caused by the mysterious threat, which was later revealed to be Graboids. Thus, they were commissioned against their will to take two of Walter's horses across the valley to try to reach the police until they were attacked by a Graboid and discovered how enormous they were. Earl and Val met up with grad student Rhonda LeBeck after having killed the Graboid, and after staying all night on top of a boulder to avoid another of the creatures, they drove in Rhonda's pickup truck back into town where they rallied together with their fellow Perfectionites to kill the three remaining Graboids. Earl had plans of using the Graboid situation to take his big chance in life. He wanted recognition in National Geographic Magazine; he got a cover story in People magazine. Still, that was enough to raise national interest in the Graboids, and soon, Earl and Val were in ads for Nike, Inc. The news spawned Graboid-themed Dark Horse Comic books, and even an arcade game. However, though Earl was co-discoverer and co-destroyer of the Graboids, in the end he got no residuals from any of the merchandise that used the Graboid likeness, and he found himself, in 1996, stuck back in Perfection ranching ostriches. However, things changed when Grady Hoover, a big Graboid enthusiast and admirer of Earl, showed up on his doorstep and offered him his big "second big chance" in life...to accompany him on a Graboid-hunting expedition for the Petro Maya oil company in Mexico. This time there were thirty-six Graboids instead of only four, and they would get $50,000 apiece for each one killed. While there, Earl and Grady killed twenty-eight, which ended up totaling $1,400,000. During this process, Earl felt at some point that they needed reinforcements, so he called in Burt Gummer to join him. The remaining eight Graboids turned into Shriekers, the second stage of the Graboid's biological life cycle, but Earl, Grady, and Burt killed every one of them. They also managed to talk the Mexican government into giving them money for each of the Shriekers killed (considering the dozens of Shriekers that they destroyed in a large explosion, one can only imagine how much more money they were awarded, even if they did destroy the entire Petro Maya oil refinery). While battling Graboids with Grady in Mexico, Earl met Dr. Kate Reilly, the geologist working on the case for Petro Maya. They got along very well, and eventually discovered that they really, really liked each other...and at a time of utmost desperation, when they were camped out on a roof to avoid the Shriekers, Earl realized that she had been Miss October 1974, the Playboy Playmate he had pinned up on his wall ("She's there to remind me not to keep chasing after things I'm never gonna get"). They fell in love and presumably got married. After the situation in Mexico, Earl and Grady used their newfound riches to operate a Graboid-themed amusement park (Earl and Grady's Monster World), a proposition that Grady suggested in at the end of the second film, calling Earl's third big chance. While Earl was never seen again, it was revealed in the third film that the theme park had become a major success. Melvin Plugg Nancy Sterngood Nancy Sterngood (Charlotte Stewart in the films, Marcia Strassman in the TV series) is an artist and former hippie who separated from her husband sometime prior to the first film (he thought that hwer idea of moving there was one of her "artistic pipe dreams" which is strange as he was to be portrayed as a ex-rocker with Nancy as something of a groupie back in the day), and the mother of Mindy Sterngood. As of the time the TV series takes place (2003), she is one of three of the original characters who still live in Perfection (the other two being Burt and Melvin). In the films, her main concern has been her daughter, especially her safety from the Graboids; however, when Mindy became an adult, Nancy was able to worry about her own affairs more. Their last name was in the original script of the first film, but was not used onscreen until the third. In the third film, she began selling Graboid-themed souvenirs. The film suggested she has had to purchase them at wholesale prices, but in the TV series, she makes much of her merchandise herself, perhaps due to dissatisfaction of the quality of the souvenirs that the manufacturers had made (they had given the Graboid items one too many tentacles). Though she feels as annoyed with Larry Norvel as everyone else, she let him have her guest room for a week until he found a more permanent home in Perfection. Had there been a second season, it was planned that a potential romance would form between her and Burt.http://www.stampede-entertainment.com/faq/ Mindy Sterngood Miguel The ambitious sidekick Every instalment of the franchise features a man in his 20s (the younger of the male leads) who dreams of making a success of himself. * Valentine McKee * Grady Hoover (Christopher Gartin): A taxi driver who brought Senor Ortega to Perfection, and brought Earl to Chiapas, Mexico. He was the one who convinced Earl that he had a "big second chance" to be rich and successful from the Graboids and that he should take it. Eventually, he and Earl destroyed all of the Graboids and Shriekers in Chiapas, and became partners in Grady's idea for opening a theme park. Grady is a city slicker by nature, contrasting with the other characters who played a role similar to him. * Jack Sawyer (Shawn Christian): AKA "Desert Jack", this thrill-seeking man moved to Perfection in the third film to create Desert Jack's Graboid Tours, a tourist business. There were hints of a romantic relationship between him and Jodi, but the relationship apparently did not last, as he did not appear in the TV series. Toward the end of the film, he said he was now "Car Wash" Jack, as he had landed a job in Bixby. * Tyler Reed * Juan Pedilla (Brent Roam): The founder of Miguel's cattle ranch as well as his ancestor, featured in the fourth film. He attempted (and eventually succeeded, though not without difficulty) to help Hiram Gummer to adjust to life in the American west. He struggled to pay off his land, but Hiram eventually commissioned the money from his silver mine. He also had a habit of losing his cowboy hat whenever he was in an encounter with a graboid. Before the town's last stand at the end of the film, Hiram gave Juan a second hat, saying, "knowing you, you'll need a spare." Juan gave this hat to Fu Yien after the final graboid was killed. The Chang family Since the 1880s, Chang’s market, which is Perfection’s only store, has been owned and run by the Chang family. * Walter Chang (Victor Wong): A well-aged, somewhat eccentric man, he only appeared in the first film. He claimed that since Perfection’s residents discovered the Graboids, they should name them, an idea that Miguel and Melvin agreed to (though Val and Earl thought that naming them wasn’t important). Shortly after Walter coined the term "Graboids", one of them ate him--a fact humorously referenced in the second film. In the original script, he was intended to be a Vietnamese man named Pham Van, but this was changed when Victor Wong was cast for the part.http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Tremors.html * Jodi Chang * Pyong Chang (Lo Ming), Lu Wan Chang (Lydia Look), and Fu Yien Chang (Sam Ly): A father, mother and child respectively. They were the original owners of Chang's Market and immigrants from China. Presumably, Fu Yien is Walter's grandfather. Keeping with the family tradition, Pyong came up with the name "Dirt Dragons". The romantic interest Typically, a Tremors film has three main characters, one of which is female, and a love interest for one of the male leads. Jodi Chang filled this role in Tremors 3 (see above). * Rhonda LeBeck * Dr. Kate Riley (Helen Shaver): A middle-aged single scientist working in Chiapas, Mexico where the Graboids attacked. She said that only she, Pedro and Julio were still at the oil base. It was eventually revealed that she was the (fictional) Miss October, 1974 that Earl used to pine for. After they killed off all of the Shriekers, she and Earl fell in love. They later married. * Rosalita Sanchez * Christine Lord (Sara Botsford): Burt's great-grandmother who was apparently a widow before she married Hiram (which happened sometime before the film). She ran the hotel in Rejection (when the town had more businesses than it did in the late twentieth century). Though only a supporting character, she, like Tecopa, Juan, and the Changs, was a great help in dealing with the Graboids. Do to the fact that meny of her tennants could not pay their rent with cash she instead accepted their firearms; while she amased a large collection Black Hand Kelly was not impressed. Minor characters in Tremors * Heather Gummer * Nestor Cunningham (Richard Marcus): His last name Cunningham was in the original script.http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Tremors.html He initially thought that ordinary tools like a pickax or chainsaw could stop Graboids. He lived in a trailer, which the Graboids turned over so they could eat him. He was the last character to die in the first film (after trying to hide in a tractor tire). Notably, Melvin was upset at his death, but not at anyone else’s (possibly because he actually witnessed it). * Edgar Deems (Sunshine Parker): An old man who lived well outside of town. He was a hermit who found companionship mainly in his donkey Justine, but was friends with Old Fred.http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Tremors.html Edgar was apparently responsible for repairing electrical equipment, such as the power lines. However, the Graboids cornered him up a tower until he died of thirst. * Old Fred (Michael Dan Wagner): Another hermit who lived outside of town, he was even older than Edgar. He kept a flock of sheep and a vegetable garden. The Graboids pulled him underground and ate him (though they left his head). * Jim and Megan Wallace (Conrad Bachmann and Bibi Besch): The town doctor and his wife. They were a married couple trying to erect their home in Perfection, suggesting they were the newest arrivals. Jim was eaten alive, and Megan was buried alive (she tried to hide in their car, but it was pulled underground). Their last name Wallace was in the original script.http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Tremors.html * Carmine and Howard (John Pappas and John Goodwin): Two highway construction workers who were eaten when the Graboids closed off the only road out of town. Minor characters in Tremors 2 * Señor Ortega (Marcelo Tubert): An executive of the oil company who hired Earl to deal with the Graboids that were killing off his workers and costing him money. He was not seen for the rest of the film, and presumably survived. * Pedro (José Ramón Rosario): The chief engineer at Señor Ortega’s company. He was killed by Shriekers while en route to answer Earl and Grady’s call for a tow truck. * Julio (Marco Hernandez): Kate’s assistant. When Shriekers appeared at the oil refinery, they killed him. * Oil Worker (Thomas Rosales Jr.): An unnamed man seen being killed at the start of the film. Minor characters in Tremors 3 * Buford (Billy Rieck): Jack’s assistant who came to Perfection with him. He helped simulate Graboid attacks for tourists, but then real Graboids appeared and ate him. * Dr. Andrew Merliss (Barry Livingston), Agent Charlie Rusk (John Pappas), and Frank Statler (Tom Everett): Three federal employees who came to Perfection to inform the residents that Graboids were considered an endangered species. They wanted to seize the land and protect the creature. Their offer of compensation for the residents’ losses didn’t please them. In the end, one of the Graboids turned into Shriekers and killed the three. (Pappas also played Carmine in the first film.) * Tourists: Named in the credits as Tourist Guy (Kelly Connell) Tourist Kid (Matthew Seth Wilson) Tourist Kid (Jason Hopkins), Tourist Lady (Lorna Scott), and Tourist Mom (Mary Gross). They appeared near the start of the first film taking Jack’s tour. None of them died. (Note: Mary Gross is Michael Gross’s sister.) * Argentine newspersons (Elena Sahugan, Javi Mulero, and Diego Galantie): A reporter, producer and cameraman respectively, who covered Burt dealing with a Shrieker attack in Argentina at the start of the film. Minor characters in Tremors: the Series The following characters were featured in more than one episode of the TV series. * W.D. Twitchell * Larry Norvel (J.D. Walsh): A fanatic of Graboids and Burt Gummer, and a regular visitor. The residents of Perfection wish he would leave them alone. Nevertheless, he has been helpful from time to time. Eventually, he settles in town. Jodi was surprised to find out that his ideas actually helped her store, so in the end he works for her. His charecter would have evolved given a second season. He has a encyclopedic knowledge all things sci-fi. * Cletus Poffenberger * Harlowe Winnemucca (Branscombe Richmond): A Native American who is Rosalita’s hired hand on her ranch. * Dr. Casey Matthews (Sarah Rafferty): A scientist who came to Perfection to study Graboids. * Roger Garrett (Richard Biggs): Dr. Matthews’ assistant who came to Perfection with her. * Frank (Nicholas Turturro): A Las Vegas criminal who visited Perfection twice. Minor characters in Tremors 4 * Black Hand Kelly (Billy Drago): A middle-aged gunfighter who was hired by Hiram to deal with the Dirt Dragons (as the Graboids were formerly called). He was apparently based on Burt, but lacked some of the positive aspects of Burt’s personality, as he was not likely to make friends. He believed in being prepared, and said that "being full-grown don’t make you a man". He was eaten alive by a full grown Graboid but appears to start the Gummer families love of weapons. He apparently was a gunfighter for over 20 years during which we learned various skills so that as a demonstration, he was able to shoot a hanging sausage and plant two bullets in it as it fell. He would no doubt have been effective against the baby Graboids. * Tecopa (August Schellenberg): A Native American who lived in Rejection. A hard worker, he set up a hole for a flagpole before Nevada had even adopted a flag. He is not related to any characters from the first three films. He also gives evidence that the Graboids have appeeared before white setallers came to the valley. * Old Fred (J.E. Freeman): An old man who drove the freight in Rejection. His existence and death by Graboid in the fourth film is a comical reference to the first film. He may or may not be related to the other Old Fred. Juan Pedilla mentioned in his eulogy that Old Fred had bad breath, then added that he didn't want to say that. * Silver Miners: Various men who worked at the silver mine that Hiram owned. They were killed one by one. The Mine Foreman (Lou Carlucci) died near the start of the film. The last group to die, accompanying Hiram and Juan, included Big Horse Johnson (John Dixon), brothers Brick Walters (Matthew Seth Wilson) and Stony Walters (Dan Lemieux), and drunk Soggy (Don Ruffin). * Townspeople: Various people who left when the town was going broke from miners dying. Two were named (but not identified) as Stan Kelton, who was the town blacksmith, and Andrew Beck, who was the one who sent for Hiram. It is unknown whether they are related to any characters from the other films. * Victor (Neil Kopit) * Western Union Clerk (Sean Moran) * Luke (Andrew Van Hise)